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In 1981, Northwestern
student Derrick Grava decided that the University needed a rowing
team. In the early stages Grava, who had rowed in high
school, served as both rower and coach, and the team had to borrow
boats for both practice and competition. The team’s
first home was the Lincoln Park lagoon that borders Lake Shore
Drive. Northwestern Crew eventually relocated (the first of
many moves) to a boat house at Navy Pier which served as the
team’s home until the late 1990’s. Due to a change
in ownership, the team was eventually forced to relocate to a parking
lot on the south side of Chicago where they used truck bed storage
containers to store their oars and other equipment. The
distance between the location of the boats and the Evanston campus was
extremely difficult for the rowers who had to spend as much time
traveling to practice as they did training. Fortunately, the
team was able to relocate for the 2002-2003 season to a more convenient
site at North Avenue managed by the Lincoln Park Boat Club. |
 The
Crew team has been painting the Rock every year, a Northwestern
tradition.
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 The entire team on Spring Break in 2001. |
In the 2003-2004 season, Northwestern Crew successfully negotiated a move to the Dammrich Rowing Center (DRC) in Skokie, IL. The team currently shares this space with other area high schools and college crews including Loyola Academy, New Trier High School, and North Park University. The DRC is located only three miles from the Northwestern campus and allows the team to maximize their training time and row on a great stretch of sheltered water – the North Channel. |
Rowing is the largest
club sport at Northwestern with membership ranging between 50-70 men
and women. After humble beginnings, the team currently owns a
substantial amount of equipment including boats (eights and fours),
oars, engines, and launches and also employs four coaches.
The team receives limited funding from the University each year to help
cover its expenses. However, the University stipend only
covers a fraction of the team’s overall costs. The
vast majority of the team’s near $100,000 budget is raised by
the student members. Rowers pay dues each quarter and
participate in fundraising activities throughout the school year
including working concessions, ushering, and cleanup at football and
basketball games. Northwestern Crew also holds an
“erg-athon” in the winter to raise money and
solicits donations from Northwestern alumni.
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 The Varsity Men's heavy four from the 2000 season. |
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